Maintaining your home is a full time job and it seems that as soon as you complete one task for your property, another one rears its ugly head. For this reason we tend to spend a lot of our time either painting, hammering or drilling which can all get rather tiring. While tis all takes a lot of work though, when it becomes more serious is when it becomes a health risk – which is particularly the case when we find ourselves working on the roof at the top of a big ladder for instance which could at any point topple over and which requires constant balancing. In such scenarios it’s crucial to make sure you are safe and do everything in your power to avoid falling, and to acquire the help of professionals if you have any doubt – of course your immediate safety is far more important than maintaining your home.
Here we will look at some ways you can stay safe when working up a ladder, but be sure not to take any risks even if you are following these guidelines.
Weather
The first thing to make sure of is that you are only working up ladders when the weather is good. If it’s raining or windy then you will have more factors to deal with and it will be more difficult to balance so just make sure that you wait until the weather improves to do any jobs that can wait or get in a professional if they can’t.
Spotters
Whenever you go up a ladder regardless of the job you’re doing you should always have a spotter down the bottom to catch you should you fall, to pass your tools up to you, to steady the ladder and to get help if necessary. Never go up on your own.
Tools
Of course you also need to ensure that the tools you’re working with are safe and specifically this means the ladder. Make sure that it’s sturdy and that it’s locked in place if it’s an extendable one. Again, don’t take chances here and if it feels like it might collapse on you – delay the job until you have one you’re confident won’t.
Roofing
It’s also possible that the roofing itself could be a threat to your health or safety. If it’s collapsing for instance then being up there may not be entirely safe, and likewise if you’re up here for asbestos roof removal then there’s a chance you’re going to make yourself ill working on it unless you know the correct precautions to take. Here again you’re best off using a professional.
Technique
Of course it’s also important to make sure you know how to do the work you’re doing up there and how to reach around the roof without throwing yourself off balance. In this respect one of the most important things to remember is to take your time and to get down and move the ladder regularly rather than to try and reach parts of the roof from where you are. The latter of course will cause you to lean in one direction which will set you off balance, so take your time and do things well rather than quickly.
Michelle Quad is a well reputed fitness trainer. She gives health tips on her blogs. She urges people to be healthy rather then thin.